SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/23/2021 8:58 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “Intro
to Matthew 9:33b-35”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
9:33b-35
Message of the verses: “and the crowds
were amazed, and were saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen
in Israel." 34 But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the
demons by the ruler of the demons."
“35 Jesus was going through all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.”
I want to begin this SD with a
statement that I have heard before and truly believe and that is that Jesus is
the dividing line of history and the demarcation point that determines the
ultimate destiny of every individual on earth.
Let us once again, as we have looked at this verse on many different
occasions, look at John 3:36 which speaks to what this statement speaks
of: “"He who believes in the Son has eternal
life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him.’” This verse was said by
John the Baptist and the truth of this verse is so very wonderful for those who
believe on Jesus as their Savior and Lord, but dreadful to those who have not,
but those who are still alive at this time have time to remedy that situation
and believe on Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.
John MacArthur writes “When Jesus
was only about forty days old, His parents took Him to the temple in Jerusalem
to present Him to the Lord as their firstborn male child and to perform Mary’s
rite of purification after giving birth.
While they were there, a godly man named Simeon, whom the Holy Spirit
had promised ‘would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.’ took
the infant Jesus in his arms. He praised
God for the child, saying of Him, ‘My eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou
has prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the
Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel’ (Luke 2:26, 30-32). Then he blessed Mary and Joseph ‘and said to
Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many
in Israel’” (v. 34).”
In a similar way we have seen from
John the Baptist’s words in John 3:36 we have seen in the words of Simeon, and
can see also what our statement in the first part of this SD mentioned. Jesus Christ is the most important person
ever to be born on planet earth, He is the creator of everything, and yet
stooped to come down into history in order to save those whom the Father chose
in eternity past and it is the job of all believers to give out the Word so
that people can come to Him as their Savior and their Lord. MacArthur adds “To reject Jesus ‘fall’ into
God’s judgment and consequently into hell, whereas those who accept Him are
saved from sin and death and ‘rise’ into eternal life with God in heaven. Those are the only two possible destinies for
a human being. Those who trust God are
saved and are ‘like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its
fruit in its season,’ whose those who reject God are lost and ‘are like chaff
which the wind drives away’ (Ps. 1:3-40.”
We
will conclude this SD with some quotes from the book of Luke that were spoken
by Mary even before Jesus was born, while still in her womb. “49 “For the Mighty One has done great things
for me; And holy is His name. 50 “AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER
GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM… 52 “He has brought down rulers from their
thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. 53 “HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY
WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed” (Luke 1:49-50, 53-53).” Notice that in the NASB95 they use all caps
when what is seen comes from the OT, and we can see that Mary had a great
knowledge of the OT from this section.
Now we will look at what Jesus declared at the beginning of His ministry
found in Luke 6:20-26.
20 And turning His gaze
toward His disciples, He began to say, "Blessed are you who
are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who
hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now,
for you shall laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you,
and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23
“Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great
in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. 24 “But
woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 25 “Woe to
you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh
now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you when all men speak
well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same
way.”
We
can see from these verses and others we have looked at that those who are
blessed are the saved, and those who fall under God’s woes are the lost.
Lord
willing, we will continue with these thoughts in our next SD, as they certainly
are so very important things to learn and once we know them to spread the word
so others can realize their need for the Savior.
Spiritual meaning for my life: Continue to learn more and more about my
Savior and Lord as I go through this section.
My Steps of Faith for Today: “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts,
always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an
account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet.
3:15).
6/23/2021 9:30 AM
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